For dr_zoom
Summary: It seemed as if time moved in reverse for them, which wasn't a bad thing necessarily.
Note: I did incorporate Pizza Time Theatre info in here, so yeah.
In the beginning, in what seemed like the thirties but were actually the seventies, they began. Old vaudeville skits woven in with disco, until he got dizzy, which wasn't an easy feat. It was funny that it worked, because they were so dissimilar. They him, a simple hound dog, a pizza maker that sang, a wisetalking cat, and Chuck. From the start, Chuck had always been in charge, planning setlists and lining up guest vocalists. He was the one who found a replacement for Crusty when he hadn't shown up one day, walking into rehearsal the next day with Munch, casually saying that he was going to sit in for a session or two, and just... fitting.
There were insults flung around, with Chuck's getting agitated and flinging his hand around, making everyone duck as his ever-present cigar dropped ash. He'd rant and almost throw his microphone down in disgust over a wrong note or missed cue. Somehow, it all worked out, and they always gave a show that went like clockwork.
Jasper realized early on that he could never take Chuck's place. He saw how Chuck earned having his name on the marquee, letting himself be the butt of jokes and even though he was by far the best singer of the four guys, blending in perfectly when it was required and not standing out.
After a run of different females sitting in, Helen came for a couple sets. One week turned into two turned into a month, and without realizing it, she became part of the band.
-----
The seventies faded from memory and in the eighties, Chuck gave up smoking. He changed the band's sound, and they incorporated more modern songs. He also made friends with the bear. Jasper would watch as they would go to each others' rehearsals and hang out at each others' restaurants. He couldn't see the value in it personally- didn't they used to be the competition? It was easily ignored at first, but when talk of a joint album came out, Jasper made sure to catch Chuck alone to ask about that.
Chuck had looked at Jasper, a searching look, and had said that the project was never going to happen. At the time, Jasper had wondered why Chuck had seemed so flat and certain when he had answered, but knew when management had announced about the 'changes' coming up, and he caught Chuck's eyes once during the meeting. Chuck had stared back levelly, but had a certain look of resignation before turning away.
------
They changed their style again, with Chuck giving up his derby and vest for a tuxedo, claiming that a new gig deserved some class, and they got a name. Why it became Munch's band was uncertain, but everyone knew that it was still Chuck's place. It was how he greeted all of the customers, anyway.
------
Jasper noticed something a little strange starting in the nineties. He glanced in the mirror before going onstage, to make sure his new guitar was still positioned right when he noticed that his wrinkles were softer. They were still there, but not as noticeable. He laughed at himself for noticing that, but reflected that it wasn't his new circumstances that were causing it; they had never performed more gigs in their lives. He meant to point it out to Chuck, but forgot and went out anyway. As he went to sing that night, he noticed that his voice was a little different, higher somehow. He decided he liked the change and sang as if his heart was in those notes, which they were.
Time marched forward again. Jasper noticed that the people coming to hear them perform were younger and younger. Kids even. They'd always been welcome, sure, but now they dominated the whole atmosphere, with the place becoming more bright and colorful. He started to ask Chuck to see what he thought, but when he knocked on Chuck's dressing room, only to find that Chuck was standing in front of his three way mirror, trying on a shirt with a big 'C' on it and shorts. Quite a change from the tux, Jasper thought, as Chuck pulled on the collar again.
Jasper left him to his thoughts and returned to his own dressing room, staring at the mirror. He really did look like a teenager. Then again, Helen was a teenager, again (Jasper wasn't sure how that had happened, she had been in her twenties when they'd met, and that was in the seventies). Him and her being the same age wasn't shocking at all.
He also noticed, once he was paying attention, that Chuck's voice was a little different. Higher, younger. For the first time, Jasper was a little fearful. Would they continue to regress until they would be preteens, children, performing out there?
His fears evaporated when he went out for the next set. There was Pasqually, as reassuringly older as he'd ever been, even if the jokes were a lot cleaner than they had been when they started. Munch sounded different, but that was okay- his deeper voice helped round out their sound, and that was what was important.
-----
They performed, until one day, management stopped by again. They wanted to try a new concept, they said, scribbling notes and measuring off the stage and hemming and hawing before finally coming out with it- Chuck, onstage, alone. Sure, they'd appear from time to time, but mostly, it'd be Chuck's gig. They would be out in the cold.
Even as Chuck was shaking his head in denial, the techs were moving Munch's keyboard out and dissembling Pasqually's drum set. Helen watched as their set got struck, but Jasper couldn't. He turned and walked to his dressing room, slowly. Once he got there, he carefully set his guitar on the couch and sat at his mirror, wondering what would become of him.
"I told them no."
Jasper's head shot up. He hadn't heard Chuck knock, let alone enter.
"What?"
"I told them no. We're a team. Right?" Chuck sounded a lot like he had at first, brash, determined.
"Well, yeah... but you have to do what's good for your career..." Jasper started.
"I don't care. I told them, sure, try your hairbrained idea. But when you finish, we're goin' on a small tour. No more crazy scheduling, just us and the fans. I'm tired of playing the game."
Jasper looked into Chuck's eyes and knew that to be true. Slowly, he smiled.
"Ol' buddy ol' pal, then, we have a tour to set up for!"
It wasn't like it was before. The sounds were different. People that had seen them as teenagers, now bought their children and sometimes grandchildren (and wasn't that disturbing). But the sound was there, as true as it ever was.
Jasper smiled. The music still lived.